Second Chance
by X.Warped.Colors.X
Summary: Candace and Stacy have been best friends for years, but it certainly didn't start out that way. Best Friends; One-shot


**This is just a cute little story I thought of after drawing a picture of Stacy and Candace**

**when they were little. Nothing great, but I had fun writing it. :3 Enjoy~**

* * *

_La-de-dum! De-dum~_

Candace Flynn couldn't think of a better way to spend her day than building a sand castle with her mother on the magnificent shores of Danville, while her step-father tired to coax her brothers into the salty-waters of the sea. The seven-year-old red-head hummed to herself, packing some damp sand into a colorful, plastic pail. She made sure with was even before she quickly and sloppily flipped it over onto the ground. She patted the upright bottom with her hand and glanced nervously to her mother in front of her.

"Ready to see if it came out, sweetie?" Linda asked. Candace nodded and slowly lifted the pail up, the sand holding its shape perfectly. She dropped the pail and cheered triumphantly, "Good job, Candace."

"You helped, momma." The two shared a victory hug before Linda started another batch of wet sand for her sandy contractor. She was packing it down and was about to hand it over, when her husband approached with two boys by his side.

"Linda, darling, could you take Ferb for a moment? Phineas said he has use the little boy's room." He said.

"Sure thing." Linda took the small, British boy from his father and set him in her lap. Lawrence walked away with Phineas, who jumped up and down eagerly. It was clear he was in the process of being potty-trained and didn't want to miss his chance to be a big boy. Ferb clapped his hands and made a little whining noise, pointing towards a seashell not far from where they sat.

"Mommy, who doesn't Ferb talk?" Candace asked, flipping the pail of sand her mother had made for her. Linda picked the seashell up and handed it to him, the noises stopping.

"I don't know, honey. But he's your brother now, so don't pick on him." She warned quickly.

"Phineas talks. I heard him saying the numbers I taught him, and he's even saying my name right." Candace persisted.

"Candace Gertrude Flynn, drop it." Her mother scolded. Candace hunched her shoulders and grumbled, darting her hand out to keep Ferb from putting the shell in his mouth. She hadn't been looking forward to another brother (though she had been thrilled when Phineas was born), but she knew she had to suck it up and be a mature seven-year-old! Ferb whined and tried to pull the shell away from her and put it in his mouth, but Linda took it from them both.

"Why does it want to put that icky thing in his mouth?" Candace asked.

"He must be hungry. Do you think you can stay here, while I find him a snack?" Linda asked. Candace nodded quickly.

"Yep! I'm gonna finish my castle!" She said. Linda kissed her forehead and walked away with Ferb. Candace only needed one more tier to her sand castle before she happy and able to decorate it. She packed sad into her smallest pail and flipped it on top of her structure, making sure it was balanced. The bucket beside her was filled with small odds-and-ends she had found with her mother the last time they had come to the beach, and she was excited to finally use them. She used her thumb to press windows into the sand, then put tiny shells and other shiny objects underneath them.

She was having so much fun making her kingdom beautiful that she didn't notice that someone was coming towards her. Only when she saw her castle fall and felt the sand hit her did she see the girl in front of her.

"Hey, kid! What was that for?" She demanded, standing.

"Your castle is stupid." The other girl said, crossing her arms. Candace frowned down at her ruined castle. She always took pride in her work. Her sand castles almost always took second or third place in the contests, but she had been so sure that she had first place this year.

"So? You wouldn't like it if I knocked yours down." She said.

"I bet you couldn't!" The other girl said, sticking her tongue out and kicking at what was left of the castle. Candace didn't understand why she cared so much about a simple sand castle, but she did. It might have been the fact that her mother had helped her work so hard on it the moment they arrived at the beach, and it was likely the reason why she tackled the dark-haired girl to the ground. The two children screamed and rolled around in the sand, pulling hair and scratching, until someone pulled them apart. Linda grabbed a sobbing Candace and dragged her a few feet away, making sure she was nowhere near the other girl.

"Candace," She sounded more worried than angry, "What's gotten into you?"

"S-She ruined my - our castle! She kicked it!" Candace cried. Linda looked to the other girl, whose dark blue bow was slightly undone and ripped.

"What's your name?" She asked.

"…" The girl said nothing.

"Where's your mommy?" Linda was trying to be nice and not frighten the girl, since she wanted to help.

"I'm not 'asposed to talk to strangers!" She shouted.

"Stacy! What in the world happened to you?" A woman with the same dark hair and almond shaped eyes walked up, taking the girl's hand. The moment her mother arrived, Stacy began to cry.

"She hurt me!" She blamed, pointing an accusing fingers towards Candace. Stacy's mother lifted for little girl and glared towards Linda, who was holding her own daughter protectively.

"Control your kid before she hurts someone else, or I'll get someone to control her for you." She said. Linda's face reddened some.

"Excuse me? I think you're the one who needs to control their kid. I didn't know it was good manners to walk up and ruin someone's castle." Linda defended. If it weren't for the fact that Lawrence had returned, there might have been a cat fight. He grabbed her shoulder and shook his head.

"Honey, let's just go home." He suggested.

"Momma's face is red." Phineas giggled, holding Lawrence's hand. He didn't understand that his mother was angry, or that his sister was crying until she turned and looked up to her mother.

"I wanna go home!" Candace whimpered, rubbing her eyes. Linda frowned and took her daughter's hand, turning her back to the other two.

"Then we'll go home. Come on." She and Lawrence took the kids and their things to the car. Linda put Phineas and Ferb in their seats, muttering under her breath. Candace sat between the two boys, still crying quietly to herself. Ferb reached out and patted her gently, as did Phineas. Their mother had done it to them when they were crying, so why wouldn't it work on her?

"I never want to come to the beach again!" She smacked their hands away, huffing.

"Honey, you're probably never going to see that girl again." Linda said. Candace said nothing, even on the ride home. Once they parked in the garage after the two hour drive, she jumped out of the car and ran to her room. Lawrence told Linda that he would take the boys inside, so she could talk to Candace. Before she went to her room, however, she went to the master bedroom to take something from the closet. When she reached Candace's room, she knocked.

"What?"

"Can I come in?" She asked. There was no response, which was as good as a 'yes' to her. She opened the door and stepped in, sitting on the edge of Candace's bed. She sat the little girl up, putting an arm around her.

"Are you feeling all right?" She asked.

"No. Our second castle was ruined and you got mad at a lady." She sniffed.

"I know… I'm sorry about your castle. I would have cried too, but do you want to know what always cheers me up when I'm upset?" She asked.

"What?" Candace asked, blinking at her mother with her big, blinking at her mother with her big, blue eyes.

"This," She took a photo from her pocket and handed it over, "It's a picture of your father."

"But daddy's downstairs, isn't he?" Candace took the photo, but didn't look at it right away. Linda laughed.

"Not Lawrence, but… Your other dad." She said. Candace looked down to the photo; Linda was right. It was a picture of her biological father. Tears sprang to her eyes as the year old wounds began to open up.

"I miss him, momma." She sniffed. Linda had to swallow past the lump in her throat before she spoke.

"I do, too, but seeing his smiling face reminds me of all the good times and memories we had. Nothing can make me sad when I have this, you and Phineas." She said, ruffling her hair.

"Daddy and Ferb, too?" She asked.

"Yes, them too." Linda laughed, "You can keep that for yourself. Be careful with it."

"I will, I promise!" Candace put the picture on the table next to her bed, giving her mom a big hug.

"I love you, sweetie." She said.

"I love you, too." Candace smiled.

"I'll call you down when dinner's ready, all right?" She stood and went for the door.

"Wait. I think I'm going to play with my brothers." She said, following her mother.

"Really? You're not upset anymore?" Asked Linda in false surprise.

"Nope! Seeing daddy made me happy, too." With a wide smile. She skipped downstairs to play with Phineas and Ferb. Linda smiled to herself; she knew it was going to work, but she was always glad to see her little girl happy.

* * *

A few days passed after the bully incident at the beach, and it appeared as if Candace didn't even remember it. And since it was summer, Linda had decided to take her daughter to the park. She sat on a long bench, a open book in her hands. Candace was sitting on a swing, her little hands gripping the chains tightly. She giggled and moved her legs back and forth, swinging gently. It was such a wonderful day that she had even brought the photo of her father with her. Ever since Linda had given it to her, she replied on it to cheer her up or make her smile. Candace took the photo from her pocket and smiled.

"Having fun, daddy? I can't swing too high 'cause mom said I might get sick or hurt myself. I- UMPH!" She was unable to finish, since she had been roughly shoved off the swing.

"Who are you talking to?" Asked a rude boy behind her. Candace ignored the scrape and dirt on her knee and made to grab the picture she had dropped, but the boy had grabbed it first.

"No! Give it back!" She gasped.

"Who is this? He has a weird shaped head." He said, laughing loudly. Candace felt her heart race with anger and worry.

"It's my daddy, now give it back you… you fat-head!" She shouted, still on the ground. The boy's face darkened and he leaned forward, a scowl on his face.

"No, and just for that…" He paused and took the picture between his fingers, slowly tearing it in two. Candace screamed and dove for the pieces when they fluttered to the ground. There was something heartbreaking about seeing her father in two pieces, and it felt like she was losing him all over again. She scooped the pieces up, her hands shaking.

"Daddy..?" She whispered, trying to fit the two pieces together. The bully laughed, enjoying the look of pain on her face.

"Leave her alone!"

Candace lifted her head when she heard the voice. She recognized it, but she didn't expect to hear it again, let alone defending her. The laughing boy went silent and turned to see Stacy, her hands on her hips.

"What did you say, shrimp?" He growled. Stacy's glare flattered some, but she puffed out her chest and stepped forward.

"I said to leave her alone." She said.

"What are you going to do about it?" He challenged, a nasty smirk on his face.

"This." Stacy quickly lifted her foot and kicked the boy square where the sun don't shine. The boy yelped and crumpled over, sobbing quietly. He rolled on his back and muttered threateningly towards the girl, but Stacy had already run away. She grabbed Candace's hand and pulled her away. Candace stumbled and made sure she had her picture with her, jerking her hand away when they hid behind the big slide.

"Why'd you do that?" She asked in confusion, "And what are you doing here?"

"We moved here a week ago, and… I saw him tear your picture up. Stacy put her hands behind her and looked down. Candace huffed stubbornly.

"What do you care? You ruined my perfect castle and you didn't care." She said. Stacy opened her mouth, but said nothing, "Well?"

"I didn't want to ruin your castle, but.. I was jealous because it looked good, and mommy said that winning the contest would make me feel better about moving here. A-And.. I lost my daddy, too."

"What.." Candace frowned.

"I saw you talking to the picture and thought you were weird, but then I remembered that my mommy does the same thing to a picture of my daddy." She shuffled her feet some.

"Oh… Did you know him?" Candace asked. Stacy shook her head and fiddled with her bow some.

"Mommy said he went away before I was born." She said.

"Mine went away when I was three…" She looked to Stacy and tempted a smile, "Thank you for saving me."

"I didn't do a good job. He ruined your picture." She said, taking the two pieces.

"It's only ripped in half, so I can tape it." Candace said, not minding that Stacy was holding her picture.

"You can, uh… You can come to my house and tape it. If you want…" She suggested. Candace grinned wide.

"Really? You want me to come over?" She asked. Candace had friends from school, but she was never invited over to someone's house before.

"Yeah!" Even Stacy seemed excited about it, regardless what had happened between them before, "We can play with my dolls after we fix your daddy."

"Okay! Let's go ask my mommy." Candace took Stacy's hand and pulled her this time, stopping in front of Linda, "Moooom! Some kid ruined my picture and Stacy wants me to fix it at her house and then play."

"What?" Linda lowered her book, unable to understand her daughter's first (and certainly not last) rant. She saw the girl from the beach and opened her mouth, but Stacy beat her to it.

"I'm sorry about what I did at the beach." She said quickly. Linda blinked, then smiled.

"Well, all right, then. What's this about your picture, though?" She asked. Candace showed her the two pieces, and Linda gasped.

"I know.. But Stacy wants to help me fix it. Can I go over to her house? Please? Pleasepleasepleaseplease?" She begged. Linda laughed and nodded.

"Only if I can meet her mother and apologize, too." She said.

"Okay. Maybe our mommies can be friends, too." Stacy said with a grin. Candace giggled.

"Best friends, like us." She said. Stacy blinked.

"We're best friends?" She asked, smiling some. Candace nodded.

"Yeah! Do you want to be my best friend?" She asked.

"Yes! Do you want to me MY best friend?" Stacy asked back.

"Uh, duh!"

Linda smiled and watched them laugh together, not knowing that they had meant it when they said that they'd be best friends. But, even they didn't know that they would turn out to be more than friends. Sisters is more like it…


End file.
